BlackCoffeeCollections, installations and other work by SA designer Jacques van der Watt

O N E: For Everyone
The main focus of this collection is the experimentation with gender neutrality. Through the use of oversized, nonconformist shapes the clothes lend beauty and structure to everyone who wears them. “There’s a future in gender neutral clothing. I don’t know if it’s the future for everybody but it’s what we are focusing on”, explains Black Coffee designer Jacques van der Watt.

T W O: Themes Revised
The intersection between African and Japanese form plus geometry continues to serve as inspiration as BlackCoffee finds new ways to investigate shape and patterning. This collection is also the brand’s first return to menswear elements since 2005 and the resurgence of laser-cutting from 2010 – both in different ways but with the same sensibility.

T H R E E: Influenced Style
The collection creates a design language that would be interesting for those who live in Africa rather than recreate what African design has been told to be. By bending the traditional and injecting inspiration from Afro-futurism, artist Basquiat’s personal style, and Xhosa patterns, one is left with a colourful collection exuding a modern, fresh African feeling.

F O U R: Playfully Patterned
After a career focus on geometry, patterning and layers, this collection steers Black Coffee into the realm of the recognizable. Be ready to spot a few fun identifiable icons. “Clothes with recognizable elements on them are fun. This collection might be the most literal that I have ever created,” says Black Coffee designer Jacques van der Watt.

F I V E: Go Figure
The number 5 as a symbol is energetic in both form and function. It is seen throughout science and nature as a constant yet unpredictable force. With its “masculine” lines and “feminine” curves, it’s the perfect figure to represent the investigation into the blurred dynamic between gender, and our evolving understanding of it.